Patient gown

ABSTRACT

A patient gown includes a garment having an access opening overlying a portion of a patient&#39;s body when worn; and a drape attached to the garment for movement between a covered position in which the drape covers the access opening to conceal, and maintain patient privacy of, the portion of the patient&#39;s body, and an exposed position in which the drape is uncovered from the access opening to expose, and enable access to, the portion of the patient&#39;s body. The patient&#39;s modesty is maintained while at the same time allowing unfettered access by a health care professional to different portions of the patient&#39;s body. The gown is medical personnel convenient especially for medical procedures, while retaining wanted coverage of the patient so as to avoid embarrassment due to unavoidable, undesired exposure of the body of the patient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to gowns and like wearingapparel for wear by a medical patient in a doctor's office or hospitalwhile going through one or more various medical diagnostic proceduresinvolving examination by health care professionals.

2. Description of the Related Art

Patients in hospitals, clinics, or doctors' offices are typicallyprovided with gowns in an effort to help patients maintain their privacyand modesty during examinations. A much used and well known gown has asplit-open, dual rear section back, a solid-closed front, and dual shortsleeves, made of a single sheet of cloth material. The gown is securedby drawing together one or more vertically spaced-apart ties that extendfrom opposite edges of the two rear sections of the split-open back, andby tying the drawn ties into bows.

However, such tie-bow coupling only pulls the opposite edges of the tworear sections together in the regions of the ties. Open gaps inevitablyare formed between the spaced-apart ties, and portions of the patient'sbody are visible through these gaps. Many patients, for the sake ofvanity, warmth and modesty, must manually hold the opposite edges of thetwo rear sections together to close these open gaps, thereby making theexperience of wearing these gowns not only embarrassing, but alsouncomfortable. Yet, such a split-open back gown does allow health careprofessionals ready access to the rear of a patient's body forperforming various tests and examination procedures, e.g., acolonoscopy, but again at the cost of compromising patient modesty andcomfort.

Also, the solid-front gown is not well suited for breast or vaginalexaminations by an OB/GYN health care specialist. These and otherexaminations such as a total general physical or abdominal organexamination may require total or partial removal of the gown and, inmany cases, the gown is actually worn backwards such that the split-openback of the garment covers the front of the patient. However, as before,the inevitable open gaps, this time at the front of the patient,compromise patient modesty.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Objects of the Invention

Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide an easyto manufacture, patient gown, which provides both ready access toportions of a patient's body to health care professionals and maintainsthe patient's modesty, vanity and comfort.

Another object of this invention is to provide a comfortable patientgown that is patient-considerate and health care personnel-considerateand accords unrestrictive selective access to one or more portions ofthe patient's body for medical examination purposes and other proceduralpurposes.

Still another object of this invention is to enhance personal modestyabsent in known medical patient wearing attire.

Features of the Invention

In keeping with these objects and others which will become apparenthereinafter, one feature of this invention resides, briefly stated, in apatient gown, comprising a garment having an access opening overlying aportion of a patient's body when worn; and a drape attached to thegarment for movement between a covered position in which the drapecovers the access opening to conceal, and maintain patient privacy of,said portion of the patient's body, and an exposed position in which thedrape is uncovered from the access opening to expose, and enable accessto, said portion of the patient's body.

In accordance with one feature of this invention, the drape is a panelmounted on the garment above the access opening for movement betweensaid positions. The garment and the drape are each constituted of asoft, flexible sheet material. Preferably, the drape is generallyrectangular in shape, has peripheral edges, at least one of which has anedging, and has an upper edge sewn along a generally horizontal seamalong the garment above the access opening. The drape is suspended fromthe upper edge entirely over the access opening in the covered position.The drape has an area greater than a predetermined area bounded by theaccess opening, which is preferably bordered by a border edging tomaintain the access opening constantly open.

Still another feature of this invention resides in the garment having afront side, and the access opening being located on the front side ofthe garment and overlying at least one of upper and lower regions ofsaid portion of the patient's body. For example, the at least one of theupper and lower regions of said portion of the patient's body may be achest area, and the access opening is a generally circular areaoverlying and exposing the chest area in the exposed position. Asanother example, the at least one of the upper and lower regions of saidportion of the patient's body may be a groin area, and the accessopening is a generally U-shaped area overlying and exposing the groinarea in the exposed position.

The garment also has a rear side, and the access opening may be locatedon the rear side of the garment, for example, at the buttocks area, inwhich case, the access opening is a generally U-shaped area overlyingand exposing the buttocks area in the exposed position.

Either of the front and rear sides may be split to comprise split sides.In that case, the access opening and the drape are located at the otherof the sides of the garment, and the split sides may be tied togetherwith a tie. Preferably, neither side is split, and both sides are solid,so that the garment may be donned by being slipped down over the head ofthe patient. Of course, the garment is preferably constituted of acomfortable, flexible sheet cloth material and has a neck opening and apair of sleeve openings.

The gown may additionally be provided with another access openingoverlying a different portion of the patient's body when worn, andanother drape attached to the garment for movement between anothercovered position in which the other drape covers the other accessopening to conceal, and maintain patient privacy of, said differentportion of the patient's body, and another exposed position in which theother drape is uncovered from the other access opening to expose, andenable access to, said different portion of the patient's body.

In all of the above-described embodiments, the patient's modesty ismaintained while at the same time allowing unfettered access by a healthcare professional to different portions of the patient's body. The gownis medical personnel convenient especially for medical procedures, whileretaining wanted coverage of the patient so as to avoid embarrassmentdue to unavoidable, undesired exposure of the body of the patient.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a patient gown having upper andlower drapes in their respective covering positions in accordance withone embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a broken-away perspective view of the gown of FIG. 1 with theupper drape raised to its exposed position;

FIG. 3 is a broken-away perspective view of the gown of FIG. 1 with thelower drape raised to its exposed position;

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of patient gown having a lower drapein its covering position in accordance with another embodiment of thisinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the patient gown of FIG. 4 with thelower drape raised to its exposed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 generally identifies a patient gowncomprising a garment 12 having a neck opening 14, a-pair of sleeves 16having sleeve openings 18, a front side 20, and a rear side 22. As shownin FIG. 2, an upper, generally circular, access opening 24 overlies anupper portion of a patient's body, i.e., the chest area, when worn; andas shown in FIG. 3, a lower, generally U-shaped, access opening 26overlies a lower portion of the patient's body, i.e., the groin area,when worn. The upper access opening 24 has a circumferentially-completeborder edging 28, and the lower access opening 26 has a generallyU-shaped border edging 30, each edging being a doubled-over piece of thefront side, or perhaps a separate material, to reinforce the respectiveaccess opening and maintain it in a constantly open position.

In accordance with this invention, a drape is attached to the garmentfor movement between a covered position in which the drape covers theaccess opening to conceal, and maintain patient privacy of, said portionof the patient's body, and an exposed position in which the drape isuncovered from the access opening to expose, and enable access to, saidportion of the patient's body. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, an upperdrape 32 is shown in FIG. 1 in the covered position concealing the chestarea of the patient, and in the raised, exposed position in FIG. 2exposing the chest area of the patient. In the same embodiment of FIGS.1-3, a lower drape 34 is shown in FIG. 1 in the covered positionconcealing the groin area of the patient, and in the raised, exposedposition in FIG. 3 exposing the groin area of the patient. Although theupper and lower drapes 32, 34 are shown in the same embodiment, it willbe understood that a particular gown may, and often is, provided withonly one access opening and its corresponding drape.

The front side 20 of the gown of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 is solid,while the rear side 22 is shown as being split into two rear sectionshaving ties 36. This need not be the case, and the rear side can also bemade solid, in which case, the gown is preferably donned by beingslipped down over the patient's head.

The gown of the embodiment of FIGS. 4-5 is analogous to the firstembodiment, except in the following respects. First, it is the rear side22 of the gown of the embodiment of FIGS. 4-5 that is solid, while thefront side 20 is shown as being split into two front sections havingties 36. As before, the front side can also be made solid.

As shown in FIG. 5, a lower, generally U-shaped, access opening 38overlies a lower portion of the patient's body, i.e., the buttocks area,when worn. The lower access opening 38 has a generally U-shaped borderedging 40. The edging 40 is a doubled-over piece of the rear side, orperhaps a separate material, to reinforce the lower access opening andmaintain it in a constantly open position. In the embodiment of FIGS.4-5, a lower drape 42 is shown in FIG. 4 in the covered positionconcealing the buttocks area of the patient, and in the raised, exposedposition exposing the buttocks area of the patient.

The gown itself is preferably of one-piece construction and made of afabric, paper, cotton, cotton blend, or other natural or syntheticcloth. The gown may be left plain or colored, or preferably imprintedwith a pattern.

Each drape 32, 34, 42 is a panel mounted on the garment above therespective access opening 24, 26, 28 for movement between theirrespective covering and exposed positions. Preferably, each drape isgenerally rectangular in shape, although other shapes are contemplated,e.g., circular or oval. Each drape 32, 34, 42 has peripheral edges,preferably reinforced by respective edgings 44, 46, 48 to maintain theirshape. Each drape 32, 34, 42 has respective upper edges 50, 52, 54 sewnalong a generally horizontal seam along the garment above the respectiveaccess opening 24, 26, 28. Each drape is suspended from its upper edgeentirely over the respective access opening 24, 26, 28 in the coveredposition. Each drape has an area greater than a predetermined areabounded by the respective access opening to insure privacy.

In all of the above-described embodiments, the patient's modesty ismaintained while at the same time allowing unfettered access by a healthcare professional to different portions of a patient's body. The gown ismedical personnel convenient especially for medical procedures, whileretaining wanted coverage of the patient so as to avoid embarrassmentdue to unavoidable, undesired exposure of the body of the patient.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, also may find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in apatient gown, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

1. A patient gown, comprising: a) a garment constituted of a soft,flexible sheet material and having an access opening overlying a portionof a patient's body when worn; and b) a drape constituted of a soft,flexible sheet material and attached to the garment for upward movementfrom a covered position in which the drape covers the access opening toconceal, and maintain patient privacy of, said portion of the patient'sbody, to an exposed position in which the drape is uncovered from theaccess opening to expose, and enable access to, said portion of thepatient's body, the drape constituting a panel having an upper edge sewnalong a generally horizontal seam along the garment above and spacedfrom the access opening, the panel being freely suspended from the upperedge entirely over the access opening in the covered position, the panelhaving reinforced edgings at opposite sides thereof to maintain a shapeof the freely suspended panel in the covered position.
 2. (canceled) 3.(canceled)
 4. (canceled)
 5. The gown of claim 1, wherein the drape isgenerally rectangular in shape.
 6. (canceled)
 7. The gown of claim 1,wherein the access opening bounds a predetermined area, and wherein thedrape has an area greater than said predetermined area.
 8. The gown ofclaim 1, wherein the access opening is bordered by a border edging tomaintain the access opening constantly open.
 9. The gown of claim 8,wherein the border edging is circumferentially complete.
 10. The gown ofclaim 1, wherein the garment has a front side, and wherein the accessopening is located on the front side of the garment.
 11. The gown ofclaim 10, wherein the access opening overlies at least one of upper andlower regions of said portion of the patient's body.
 12. The gown ofclaim 11, wherein the at least one of the upper and lower regions ofsaid portion of the patient's body is a chest area, and wherein theaccess opening is a generally circular area overlying and exposing thechest area in the exposed position.
 13. The gown of claim 11, whereinthe at least one of the upper and lower regions of said portion of thepatient's body is a groin area, and wherein the access opening is agenerally U-shaped area overlying and exposing the groin area in theexposed position.
 14. The gown of claim 1, wherein the garment has arear side, and wherein the access opening is located on the rear side ofthe garment.
 15. The gown of claim 14, wherein said portion of thepatient's body is a buttocks area, and wherein the access opening is agenerally U-shaped area overlying and exposing the buttocks area in theexposed position.
 16. The gown of claim 1, wherein the garment has afront side and a rear side, and wherein one of the sides is split tocomprise split sides, and wherein the access opening and the drape arelocated at the other of the sides of the garment, and wherein the splitsides are tied together with a tie.
 17. The gown of claim 1, wherein thegarment is constituted of a sheet cloth material and has a neck opening,a pair of sleeve openings, a front side and a rear side, and wherein theaccess opening and the drape are located at one of the sides of thegarment.
 18. The gown of claim 1, and another access opening overlying adifferent portion of the patient's body when worn; and another drapeattached to the garment for movement between another covered position inwhich the other drape covers the other access opening to conceal, andmaintain patient privacy of, said different portion of the patient'sbody, and another exposed position in which the other drape is uncoveredfrom the other access opening to expose, and enable access to, saiddifferent portion of the patient's body.